Abbey National subsidiary First National today bought the UK commercial mortgage arm of Belgian bank KBC for £70m.
First National offers finance to four million customers, and makes loans totalling more than £4.5bn a year.
Now its Harrow-based commercial mortgage arm, First National Commercial Banking (FNCB), has bought KBC’s UK investment property and residential care and nursing home mortgage business.
FNCB provides commercial mortgages to fund small and medium-sized business start-ups, acquisitions and leisure, catering and retail developments.
The UK arm of KBC accounts for just a small part of Belgian group’s property and retail banking activities.
FNCB director Jeff Watson said: “The KBC Bank portfolio complements perfectly our existing presence in the investment property and care sectors. Its acquisition significantly boosts our plans to build this further.”
First National has seen its profits leap by £130m between 1995 and 1999.
It provides motor and retail finance, first and second mortgages, holiday home loans, home improvement loans, funding for litigation and business finance.
EGi News 08/02/01
